Jockey Poirier, on Evangeline approaches the winning post to lift the Gavin Johnston Cup at the RCTC on Friday. Pictures by Kishor Roychowdhury

Calcutta: With fancied horses winning the jackpot legs, racegoers had little reason to complain about jolts given by outsiders earlier in the afternoon on Friday, the opening day of the season.

It was an equally satisfying day for those eyeing the first classic of the season, the 1000 Guineas. Both Bharath Singh’s Evangeline and Daniel David’s Brighter Future justified their credentials as the frontline contenders for the November 22 event. The two fillies claimed their respective events — the 1,400m Gavin Johnston Cup and the 1,100m Leonidas Handicap — without being seriously tested.

However, Arikara, another filly who was expected to make the cut in the Starry Flag Cup, proved no match for the lowly weighted colt Gypsy King. The colt helped Bharath notch up his third winner. Bharath had saddled Frontier Flame to victory earlier in the afternoon. Both Evangeline and Gypsy King were ridden by the visiting jockey M. Poirier, while Amyn Merchant partnered Brighter Future to victory.